It is 11am on a Sunday and I am beginning to feel slightly nervous, like every week. Am I really going to make it the whole 7 miles? Will my knees be okay, will I collapse?? I have now been running each week for one and a half years and actually it is always fine. Even though I am now 55 years old, I seem to be able to cope with 10 miles a week (a Wednesday 3 mile run and a Sunday 7 mile run), especially if I think of it as a ‘Nature Jog’ rather than an attempt to create a Personal Best (PB). In fact, I am expecting to decline physically in my 60’s and therefore seeking a PB seems wrong. It is just enough to be out there in the fresh air, particularly wonderful during lockdown.
What inspired me in 2019 was a short Youtube video of a woman who started running in her 50’s, and who ran for over 10 years after that including marathons – she is still running and she made it look easy and fun. Also, I was already walking a certain course around my home, very fast. So one day I started jogging it and was amazed when I got to the end, only 15 minutes faster than the fast walking but I was still very proud.
What keeps me going is:
1. the opportunity to be out in fresh air during lockdown, the importance of feeling strong and feeling the sun’s rays especially during winter,
2. the fact that I get the exercise done quicker because I am running not walking, and
3. also a knee video which my daughter found on the BBC website which guarantees no knee pain if you do some simple exercises for a few weeks.
Feeling inspired? If you’d like to share your true life story with the stozzys.com community, you can do so here.
Or, you can head back to the Read Stories Homepage